Oakland Raiders: Keeping Bruce Irvin seems like a no-brainer

The Oakland Raiders have a number of questions to answer this offseason, most notably, which players to keep and which to send packing.

As Oakland Raiders HC Jon Gruden evaluates his roster, he’s going to have a number of difficult decisons to make regarding personnel. He’ll also have some decisions that are laughably simple – see ya, Reggie Nelson.

One of the more difficult though, is whether to keep or cut veteran linebacker Bruce Irvin.

Since coming to the Raiders as a free agent in 2016, he’s been a steadying influence and solid guy on the defensive side of the ball.

More imortantly, he’s also been consistent – which is pretty good for a defensive unit that’s been anything but consistent over the last few years.

In 2016, his first year with the club, Irvin posted 57 tackles (47 solo), he forced six fumbles, defensed one pass, and recorded seven sacks. In 2017, his stats were almost identical. 58 total tackles (38 solo), four forced fumbles, three passes defensed, and eight sacks.

It was though by many that he’d be a liability in pass coverage, but he’s proven to be solid against both the run and the pass. Though not as dominant as some had hoped for, given the presence of Khalil Mack and all of the attention he draws, Irvin has been solid for this defense.

And yet, there are many rumbling, grumbling, and calling for him to be cut this offseason. Many believe the Raiders need a more effective, more dynamic pass rusher to pair with Mack.

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While that’s true – you can never have too many electric pass rushers – this doesn’t have to be an either/or proposition.

You can have Mack, Irvin, and another electric pass rusher on this defense, which would make it even better. Right?

One recent article made the case for the Raiders to move on from Irvin, stating:

"“Putting up 8.0 sacks in a season is solid on most teams as a 2nd option, however lining up across from Khalil Mack, Irvin should be posting double digit sack numbers. Mack was double and triple teamed all season in large part because Bruce Irvin was not doing anything to generate pressure. Irvin would be a nice 3rd pass rush option but the Raiders need more from a secondary pass rush option to free up Mack.”"

While none of that is necessarily untrue, it also doesn’t factor in the Norton effect.

Although Irvin’s allegiance to Norton and the impact he’s had on his life is something to be respected, the fact of the matter is that Norton’s defenses were atrocious. He didn’t put his players in position to have any sort of success.

Norton’s defenses were reactionary. They sat back waited for the offense to come to them rather than forcing the action and taking it to them. Irvin very well may have had more than 15 sacks over the last two seasons in a more attacking, in your face defense.

Or, you know, the sort of defense new DC Paul Guenther is going to be running in Oakland.

Although Irvin counts for a little more than $8 million against the cap – and the Raiders would incur no dead money if they did decide to move on from him – it very well might be a bargain if Irvin can flourish in a new attacking system.

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And, if the Raiders opt to go for an elite edge rusher in the Draft (rather than linebacker Roquan Smith like they should), and wind up with a Bradley Chubb or Marcus Davenport, can you imagine what sort of a nightmare scenario that would be for opposing quarterbacks?

Guenther has already said he has “every blitze in the book” in his arsenal and his defenses in Cincinatti were very attack-oriented. They forced the action and took it to the offense.

His Bengals defenses put up some terrific sack and interception numbers. With an elite talent like Mack, a solid number two like Irvin, and possibly another electric young pass rusher picked up in the Draft, Guenther could conceivably put together one of the league’s better pass rushing units.

Although it’s easy to look at 15 sacks over two years as underperformance for what he’s being paid, consider the system he was in. Consider the incompetence of Ken Norton Jr. And then imagine the possibilities with Guenther now calling the shots.

No, the Raiders should most definitely not part ways with Irvin. He could be part of the nucleus of one of the league’s nastiest defenses.